Francis Accuses Judge of Conflict of Interest

"Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis is claiming that a federal judge is teaming up with a former law partner to target him for retribution. Francis says U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak is behind a new lawsuit filed last week accusing him of soliciting minors to participate in sexually provocative videos.

The lawsuit was filed last week by Ross McCloy on behalf of his clients who say they were 17, 16, 15, and 13 when they were approached to be in "Girls Gone Wild" videos. McCloy is the former law partner of Judge Smoak.

It was Judge Smoak who put Francis in jail when settlement negotiations broke down when Francis lost his temper. McCloy was the lead attorney on that lawsuit also.

Calling the latest lawsuit "Shakedown Part 2," Francis said Judge Smoak should have recused himself from the previous case.

"We asked three times for the judge to recuse himself in front of his ex-law partner and he refused," Francis told reporters. "This is America and we are not going to let that happen again. We are not going to let them put me in jail for a civil suit."

See Also:
'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Accuses Judge

Background:
The Legal Troubles of Joe Francis

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